Dellchen, Riesling, Grosses Gewächs, 2022

Our early visits to the estate live in the memory, particularly a description of the way that Dellchen “swings it hips”, to mean that it is more exuberant. In the intervening years, this GG does seem to have been dialled back, while keeping a sense of immediate charm. The 2022 is pure and sparkly, with freshly squeezed lemon providing a base for small berries, pink grapefruit and quince. There is nothing baroque about this – it’s sophisticated and linear. Dellchen is the rare vineyard that combines two entirely different soil types, with up to 2m of slate over volcanic bedrock, on a steep 70% gradient. Picked in micro plots and raised in a combination of traditional German fuder and stainless steel.